It’s widely recognized that food access is not just a health issue — it’s also a community development and equity issue. As we gathered public input in 2013, community members and organizations that serve Minnesotans, like restaurants, food stores, and other public facilities, described challenges and opportunities associated with healthy food access.

Later this year, the Minnesota Food Charter document will share recommendations to improve access to healthy foods in Minnesota communities.

What Minnesotans Say About Healthy Food Access in Our Communities

Minnesotans participating the Food Charter pointed to three main healthy food access issues in their communities:

Healthy food can be challenging to prepare if you lack time, money, or skills

Getting to healthy food – on foot, bike, bus, by car, or otherwise — can be difficult in some places

Having a better infrastructure for growing and distributing healthy foods within our communities would improve our access

Growing, Cooking and Eating Healthy Food

Most (83%) Food Charter respondents agree that many people simply lack the knowledge needed to purchase and prepare healthy foods on a budget. What’s more, nearly 75% of respondents agree that people don’t truly know what a healthy diet is. This knowledge gap leads to poor eating habits.

“The kinds of [food] programs and their structure is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Communities must be involved in the process to help us discover how to really improve access.” –Public Input Response

One strategy proposed by Food Charter participants to close the “Food Skills Gap” includes developing community education classes for adults, students, and preschoolers focused on healthy eating, cooking, and where food comes from. Other classes might include instruction to help Minnesotans learn to garden, plan meals, and shop more effectively.

Providing Access to Healthy Food

Getting to affordable, healthy food is a key piece of the food system puzzle in Minnesota. While residents of larger cities across the state are more likely to have numerous grocery store options with healthy, fresh food, people in greater Minnesota may face a 30-mile drive to the only grocery store in the county and still have minimal healthy food options when they shop there. This problem becomes even more serious in places where there is no public transit or when people lack their own transportation. Individuals who don’t own a car may only plan trips to grocery shop once or twice a month — forcing them to rely more on processed, shelf-stable foods or unhealthy items offered at nearby convenience stores.

Food Charter participants proposed several solutions to these accessibility issues. Community planning decision-makers can work with local communities to locate food retailers and farmers markets on public transit routes to improve access for residents who rely on public transit to get around. Providing incentives to small grocers to sell healthy foods and promote healthy food options in their stores could also improve access to foods that benefit our health.

Improving Food Infrastructure

Food Infrastructure encompasses how we grow, process, distribute, and sell foods. Food Charter participants pointed to several barriers associated with our food infrastructure that limit access to healthy foods in Minnesota communities — from long, frigid winters to marketing, government policy and regulations. Some respondents indicated that state and federal regulations discourage production of fresh fruits and vegetables, while others say nearby farmers do not grow enough healthy fruits and vegetables for local consumption. In addition, for people who wish to grow their own food in gardens, access to land can be an issue.

“Let’s make sure decision makers see the connection between our food systems, the production system and the health of the people and the land. It’s one system.” –Public Input Response

Food Charter participants offered several possible solutions to enhance food infrastructure including policy and systems changes that will create a healthy food infrastructure, as well as incentives and new nutrition policy spanning local, state and federal levels.

Whatever the changes, it’s clear that how we prepare healthy foods, get access to healthy food options and approach our food infrastructure going forward will have a dramatic impact on access to affordable, healthy foods in communities throughout Minnesota.

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The Minnesota Food Charter Network (MFCN) is supported by the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the University of Minnesota Extension. This material was funded in part by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – with funds received from and through the Minnesota Department of Human Services. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. The Minnesota Food Charter Network is hosted by the University of Minnesota's Healthy Food, Healthy Lives Institute.